Huntington Beach’s $5.4 Million Settlement for Pacific Airshow Can Avoid ‘Huge Budget Hole’ for City, Officials Say

Huntington Beach’s $5.4 Million Settlement for Pacific Airshow Can Avoid ‘Huge Budget Hole’ for City, Officials Say
The United States Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the Huntington Beach Pier during the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2021. Michael Heiman/Getty Images
Rudy Blalock
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Surf City’s newly elected conservative majority says the city’s recent settlement of more than $5.4 million with the annual Pacific Airshow, which has brought millions of visitors from around the world since 2016, was necessary because of the event’s tremendous positive impact on the local economy.

Mayor Tony Strickland told The Epoch Times the city would have had a “huge budget hole” had the show—a spectacular of military and civilian flight demonstrations—not continued.